Metallic expansion joint for concrete roads and the like



1,586,326 c. OLDER METALLIC EXPANSION JOINT FOR CONCRETE ROADS AND THE LIKE May 25 1926.

Filed July 28 1924 Patented May 25, i926.

} 1,586,326 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFFORD OLDER, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

EEIALLIC EXPANSION JOINT FOE CONCRETE ROADS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed July 28, 1924. Serial No. 728,567.

, My invention relates to metallic expansion joints for concrete roads and the like.

The invention pertains to the problem of providin expansion joints in concrete roads, 6 concrete liridge floors, pavements, and similar structures' Expansion joints must be provided in all these structures where there is a considerable length or span of the concrete; owing to the change of volume of such 10 material as a result of change of temperature and change of moisture content.

Expansion of a road, bridge fioor, or pavement in the direction of its longitudinal axis, may be serious in a long unbroken 1 span, as the force necessary to push the pavement, as it expands'over the ground on which it rests, may easily be great enough to crush the concrete, orcause it to upheave. Likewise, friction with the soil, when a long section of the pavement contracts, may set up tension stresses in the concrete sufficient to cause it to rupture, producing irregular transverse cracks which shorten the life of the surface considerably.

In order that excessive endwise compression stresses may be avoided, with the accompanying damage, caused by endwise crushing or u heavals, and to avoid tensional stresses, with the accompanying damage caused by transverse cracks, it is common practice, in

constructing such pavements, to insert socalled expansion joints at frequent intervals. Where only the free linear expansion of the surface longitudinally of the road would be restricted, theseexpansion joints are just extended transversely, but where free lateral expansion would be detrimental to the road surface or adjacent stretches, these expansion joints are also provided 1ongitudinally, either along one or both edges of the road, or through the center thereof.

' Such expansion joints have been commonly composed heretofore of manufactured. s eets o more or less yieldin or plastic 1'na terial made of bitumen, suc as asphalt or tar, or these substances combined with'fibrous material. These sheets are disposed in vertical position,-and are of sufiicient width and length so as completely to divide the pavement into longitudinal sections and sometimes into transverse sections. Such joint material is usually made porous, or of a s on nature, so that as the pavement expan s, it compresses more or less readily,

thus relieving the compression stresses which 'bodiment of my invention:

would otherwise be setup in the pavement. Efi'orts have been made to construct such porous oint material in such a manner that it will re-expand and fill the joint as the pavement again contracts. This has, in practlce, however, proved to be a failure, as the re-expansmn of such filler material is rarely, if ever, equal to the compression. The result is that, as the pavement contracts, open spaces occur, which become filled with soil, so that the joint eventually becomes packed with unyielding material, and the compression as great as if the'expansion material had been omitted. When sheets of nonporous bituminous material are used, the

closing of the joint by pavement expans'on merely forces the material to flow out of the oint, mostly upwards to the surface of the pavement, where it spreads out and becomes worn away and dissipated by traflic. When the pavement again contracts, only a small part of the material, forced out by expansion, finds its way back into the joint; thus, o nts of this character also become packed with non-yielding soil or other material and soon rendered ineffective; To. prevent the filling of such joints by soil or stones from the surface of the pavement, it isfcommon practice during cold weather in the fall and sprlng to pour melted bitumen into and over the open omts. This practice adds greatly to the expense of maintaining the pavement and is only. partially successful, as it is impracticable to pour the joints every time the pavement contracts, which, to a certain extent, is a nightly occurrence.

I have ObVlfltGClpthfl foregoing difiiculties by providing a metallic expansion joint construction having a Wide range of expansion and contraction and characterized by the ability to re-expa'nd" to its former width, or even to a greater width when necessary, the joint bein -so related to the concrete sections that the evice will always fill the entire width of the expansion space, irrespective of the degree of contraction of the concrete and the width ofsaid space. Thus, there is no possibility of the concrete separating from the metallic joint when contracting and allowing dirt and stones to enter between the concrete and the joint.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated a preferred cm- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a concrete paving illustrating the interposition of my improved expansion joint between adjacent sections of concrete.

Figure 2 isa similar fragmentary view illustrating a"diiferent manner of attaching the corrugated edge plates.

Figure 3 is .a similar view showing another design of edge plate.

Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig ure 1,.illustrating other embodiments;

Figure 6 is as ec-tional view of another embodiment constructed of a single sheet of meta-lfolded into the desired form, and

Figures 7. and 8 are fragmentary plan and vertical sectional views, respectively, illustrating different methods of closing the ends of the joint. 4

Referring to Figure 1, a typical concrete paving is represented by the two concrete slabs l0 and 11 resting on the earth subgrade 12 or anyother-desired foundation. The customary expansion space between the sections of concrete is indicated at 13, into which "is inserted my improved expansion joint 14. This form of the joint comprises two side plates 15-15 of a depth slightly less than that of the concrete sections. \Vhere .the road is of standard two-car width, the side plates may extend across the entire width of the road, or the joint may be divided into two or more sections. Adjoining the tops and bottoms of the side plates are corrugated edge plates 17 and 18. These plates -each have a pluralityof relatively deep corrugations 19 extending longitudinally of the plate fromcnd to end thereof. .The lateral edges of these corrugated plates are crimped over the edges of the side plates 15 and Y15', these overlapping edges being then welded, riveted or clamped to the side plates in any preferred manner.

It will be noted that each lateral edge of each plate 17 and 18"is folded out along the inner side of the side plate and is then doubled back and around the outer side ofcompel these plates to move therewith at all times and prevent the formation of any openings between the side plates and the concrete. This anchorage is preferably secured by anchor pins 21, secured to the side plates in any preferred manner. There are,

preferably upper, and lower rows of these anchoring pins, located at spaced intervals, so that both the upper and lower edges of each side plate are anchored to its respective section of concrete. The top of the joint preferably terminates somewhat below the top of the concrete sections, and a filling 22 of bituminous or other suitable plastic material is poured in on top of the joint. The depth of this .bituminous filling is preferably such that the rise and fall of the surface thereof with expansion and contraction of the joint will be approximately as indicated by thedotted and full lines. If desired, an asphalt or, other bituminous filling 23 may be poured into the lower part of the joint over the bottom edge plate 18. The plates l5l5 and 17 and 18 are of suitable rust-resisting metal, but it will be noted, nevertheless, that'where such metal is not employed, the fillings 22 and 23 will afford considerable protection against water.

The spacing between the sheets 15 and 15 may be varied in manufacture to provide for a greater or less expansion in ac cordauce with the spacing between joints. The corrugated formation of the edge plates are of these plates without impairment, and the anchored attachment of the side plates to the concrete through the pins 21 insures that the side plates will always follow the concrete slabs in any separating motion.

In the embodiment shown in F igure 2, the edge plates 17 and 18 merely extend up along the inner sides of the side plates 15-15 and are secured to these inner sides without a criniped fold over the outer sides. A welded or riveted joint is desirable in this embodiment to insure that the edges of the corrugated plates 17 and 18 will always follow the side plates in separating motion.

In Figure 3 the edge plates are dished inwardly in a single corrugation for obtaining the necessary expansible and contractible flexibility. The edges of the plates 17 may be-secured to the side plates in either the manner shown in Figure 1 or as shown in Figure 2. V

In Figure 4 the side plate 15 has an intermediate rccess 25 extending longitudinally of the side plate, preferably fron'rend to end thereof. The opposite side plate 15' has a cooperating tongue 26 stamped out to protrude from the side plate and have a sliding fit in the longitudinaL recess 25. The tongue 25 may be partially or entirely filled with concrete. lVhile permitting a horizontal movement, bet-ween the pavement sections in either direction, this form of joint will prevent a vertical movement of either concrete section relatively to the other.

In Figure 5 I have shown how this same efliect can be obtained with" dowel pins 27 passing through both side plates. The side plates may have flanged hubs 28 struck outwardly from the sides thereof for supporting and guiding these dowel pins 27. Each dowel pin may have rigid attachment to one side plate and have free sliding motion relative to the other, or may have free sliding motion relative to both side plates.

In Figure 6 I have illustrated howthe j oint can be constructed of'a single sheet of scribed,

The ends of the above joints may be left open if desired, as there is little tendency for any appreciable amount of dirt to work into these ends. 1 However, if it is desired .to close these ends, this may be accomplished by turning in end flaps 31 and32 from the side walls of the joint and having these end flaps overlap with sufiicient clearance for iztpanzsion and contraction, as shown in As another expedient, corrugated end walls 33, similar to the top and bottom walls 17 and 18, maybe similarly secured between the side walls, as illustrated in Fig. 8.

While I have described certain s ecific forms ofany invention, it'will be 0 vious that the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, but that numerous modifications and rearrangements of parts may be made without departing from the essence of the invention.

I claim: j v I 1. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side walls adapted substantially to abut the ends of the adjacent concrete sections, upper and lower edge walls closing the space intervening between said side walls at top and bottom of the joint, said edge walls being corrugated for lateral compressibility of the joint, said side walls having openings therein aligned substantially horizontally, flanges extending from the openings in said side walls into the ends of the concrete sections, dowel means extending through said openings, said dowel means having rigid attachment to one of said flanges, and having guided move ment by'the flanges of the opposite side wall, and anchoring project-ions extending from said side walls for anchoring the latter to the ends of the concrete sections.-

2; An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising apair of side walls adapted substantially to abut the ends of .the concrete sections, corrugated edge walls completely closing the space intervening between said side wallsat top and bottom of saidjoint, said side walls having horizontally aligned openings therein, flanges projecting outwardly from said side walls around said openings, at dowel pin extending through said openings and having support in said flanges, and anchoring projections extending from said side walls for anchoring the latter to the ends of the concrete sections.

3; An expansion joint for concrete roads walls aligned substantially see 8 and the like comprising a air of side walls adapted to engage the en s of the concrete sections, upper and lower edge walls-closing the space intervening between said side walls attop and bottom of said joint, said edge walls being laterally compressible, said side. walls having openings therein between said top and bottom edge walls, flanges extending from the o enings in said side walls into the ends of -t e concrete sect-ions, and dowel means extending through said openings, said dowel means having rigid attachment to one of said flanges and having free sliding movement in the flanged opening of the opposite side wall;

4. An expansion joint'for concrete roads and the like comprisin a pair of side walls adapted to engage witi the ends of adjoining concrete sections, a laterally compressible edge wall closing the space intervening between said side walls at the top of said joint, said side walls having flanged openings therein, and dowel means extendingthrough said openings, said dowel means having rigid attachment in one of saidflanged openings and having sliding movement in the other of said flange-d openings.

5. An expansion joint for'concrete roads. and the like comprising a pair of separated side walls adapted to engage Hm ends of adjoining concrete sections, a laterally compressible edge wall closing the space interso A vening between said side walls at the top of said joint, one of said side walls having anope ning therein, and tee-enforcing means rigldly secured to the other of said side walls and having sliding engagement in said opening.

6. A11 expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side walls adapted to engage the ends of adjoining concrete sections, an upper edge wall fixedly joined to the upper edges of said side walls, said edge wal comprising a portion of curved cross-section permitting lateral converging and separating movement of said side walls relative to each other, anchoring extensions projectin from said side walls for anchoring the datterto the ends of their respective concrete sections, and

re-enforcing means extending between said side walls intermediate their upper and lower edges for preventing injurious vertical movement between said side walls.

7. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side walls adapted to abut the ends of adjoining concrete sections, an upper edge wall closing the top of the space intervening between said side walls, said upper edge wall comprising a portion'of curved cross-section permitting ateral converging and separating movement of said side walls, openings in said side horizontally, metallic guide means projecting beyond said openings into the adjacent concrete sections, and re-enforcing means extending through said openings and being anchored to the guide means of one side wall and having sliding movement in the guide means of the other side wall.

8. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like constructed in the form of a long narrow metallic envelope comprising spaced side walls flexibly joined together at top and bottom for lateral converging and separating movement relative to each other, means for anchoring said side walls to the ends of adjoining concrete sections,

openings in said side walls aligned substan-- tially horizontally, metallic guide means projecting beyond said openings into the adjacent concrete sections, and dowel means extending through said openings and being anchored to the guide means of one side wall and having sliding movement in the guide means of the other side wall.

9. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like constructed in the form of a relatively narrow metallic envelope comprising spaced side walls flexibly joined together at their upper edges for lateral converging and separating movement relative to each other, means for anchoring said side walls to the ends of the adjoining concrete sections and re-enforcing means extending between said side walls, said re-enforcing means having free sliding movement in an opening in one of said side walls.

10. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side plates,

flexible means joining the upper edges f, said side plates, and means for preventing" relative vertical movement between the adoining sections of concrete.

11. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side plates, laterally compressible means closing the top of the space intervening between said side plates, and means for preventing relative vertical movement between said side plates.

12. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side plates, laterally compressible means joining the upper edges of said side plates, and dowel pins extending throughboth of said side plates'and adapted to extend into the adjoining concrete sections.

13. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side walls adapted substantially to abut the ends of the concrete sections, anchoring means for anchoring said side walls to the ends of the adjoining concrete sections, upper and lower edge walls consisting of corrugated plates having 'their edges lapped over the outer sides of said side wall, a compressible filling over the upper side of the top edge wall.

14. An expansion joint for concrete roads and the like comprising a pair of side walls adapted substantially to abut the ends of the concrete sections, and an upper edge wall closing the space between said side walls at the top of the joint, said upper edge wall comprising flange portions engaging against the inner sides of said side walls and comprising flange portions engaging over the outer sides of said side walls.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe ny name this 12th dayof July, 1924.

CLIFFORD =OLDER. 

